The FBI is seeking the public’s help in locating a13-year-old Montana teen who has been missing for more than a month.
Sa’Wade Birdinground, a member of the Crow Tribe, was last seen the evening of Oct. 6 at her grandparent’s home in Garryowen, Montana, near the Wyoming border.
It’s believed she ran away from home, her grandmother Lorna Birdinground told Cowboy State Daily on Friday.
Lorna was astounded, she said, when she went into her granddaughter’s bedroom the morning of Oct. 7 to wake her only to find her gone.
This behavior is completely out of character for Sa’Wade, Lorna said. She’s never run away in the past nor has she ever been in any kind of trouble, Lorna said. She described her granddaughter as a kind, sweet girl who loves school and is well liked by her peers and teachers.
In the wake of her disappearance, the FBI, Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office in Montana, Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Crow Agency and multiple other agencies and search groups have scoured the family’s property and surrounding area with dog teams, drones, ATVs and a helicopter. They have also searched the nearby Little Bighorn River with canoes and divers.
Search efforts for Sa’Wade continue with no new updates as of Friday afternoon, according to Sandra Barker, public affairs specialist for the FBI’s Salt Lake City field office, which is overseeing the case in conjunction with the BIA Crow Agency with help from local agencies.
The BIA declined to comment Friday, citing an active investigation.
The Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office in Montana did not return multiple phone calls requesting updates.
Sa’Wade’s father, Wade Birdinground, also did not return messages, but wrote on an Oct. 19 Facebook post about his daughter being missing.
“I’m very worried. Please look out for her. I’m still looking everywhere for her. Please help and keep an eye out for my daughter,” he said.
An Amber alert has not been issued in her case because there’s no proof that Sa’Wade was taken without her consent, authorities said, but the Montana Department of Justice has issued a Missing Endangered Persons Alert (MEPA) out of concern for her safety.
The MEPA is a modified alert for cases that don’t meet Amber criteria such as runaways, missing children, children involved in custody disputes and missing adults, according to the Montana Department of Justice. It allows Montana law enforcement agencies to take advantage of some of the same resources used in Amber alerts to quickly get the word out to the public and to other law enforcement around the state and the region.
Just Want Her Home
Lorna said she is heartbroken and just wants her granddaughter to come home. Her confusion as to why and where she would have gone is overshadowed by her worry that Sa’Wade’s life might be in danger.
“I’m just hoping she’ll come home,” Lorna said, fighting back tears and explaining that law enforcement has asked her to remain close to home in case she calls.
She described her granddaughter as being a homebody who enjoys spending time with her family, she said, and not a teen who goes out on weekends with friends or parties.
Sa’Wade lives with her grandparents and had lost her mother six years ago. Lorna especially worries about her granddaughter, she said, because she has a learning disability, Lorna said, and is very dependent on her.
“She is only 13,” Lorna said. “She doesn’t have the mental capacity to make those kinds of decisions, and she wasn’t a planner. She didn’t plan that.”
She’s certain that Sa’Wade would not have left with a stranger.
The FBI is asking for help to find Sa’Wade Birdinground, 13, a member of the Crow Tribe in Montana who was last seen Oct. 6 at a home near the Wyoming border. Searchers have used dogs, divers, drones and helicopters to find her, but no luck so far. (Courtesy Photo) 
The FBI is asking for help to find Sa’Wade Birdinground, 13, a member of the Crow Tribe in Montana who was last seen Oct. 6 at a home near the Wyoming border. Searchers have used dogs, divers, drones and helicopters to find her, but no luck so far. (Courtesy Photo) 
The FBI is asking for help to find Sa’Wade Birdinground, 13, a member of the Crow Tribe in Montana who was last seen Oct. 6 at a home near the Wyoming border. Searchers have used dogs, divers, drones and helicopters to find her, but no luck so far. (Courtesy Photo)
Empty Bed
Lorna said she was hysterical when she went into Sa’Wade’s room to find her bed empty. Typically, Sa’Wade is up by 6 a.m. on her own and excitedly gets herself ready for school every day.
“She loved going to school,” Lorna said.
It’s believed Sa’Wade left through her bedroom window, which has a seven to eight-foot drop, Lorna said.
She and her husband searched the property thinking she might have just gone outside without them hearing.
“When I found out she was gone, I kind of suspected she was just going out for a quick adventure but never made it back home,” Lorna said.
Apart from two flashlights, it doesn’t appear that Sa’Wade took any clothes or any other possessions, including her cell phone that was charging at the time. The FBI have since confiscated the cell phone and other electronics for the investigation, Lorna said.
Barker declined to comment on what was found on the phone and who the teen might have been communicating with prior to her disappearance.
Lorna searched her granddaughter’s room following her disappearance and does not believe any clothes were missing. All of her toiletries were also still there, Lorna said.
Sa’Wade was last seen wearing basketball shorts, a black hoodie, anime T-shirt and purple Sketcher tennis shoes. And despite media reports, her granddaughter is right-handed not left, Lorna clarified.
The teen loves shopping, Lorna said, especially for anime shirts. She has more than 30 of them, and she also enjoys spending time outdoors.
The family is deeply concerned and just wants Sa’Wade to come home. Lorna’s worried about the proliferation of drugs on the reservation and the town’s proximity to I-90 and any number of dangers potentially facing her granddaughter.
“All of this is so bewildering,” Lorna said. “She was always so close to us. I’m not even mad. I’m just so scared and want her to come home.”
The FBI encourages anyone with information to call the Big Horn County Sheriff's Office at (406) 665-9798 or the local FBI or BIA office with tips.
Other missing children
Sa’Wade is one of 25 missing Native American children 17 or under currently listed on the Montana Department of Justice’s Missing Persons Database.
In 2023, 116 Indigenous teens 17 and under were reported missing, according to a July 1, 2024, report by the Montana Department of Justice. The average length of time a person remained missing was 15 days compared to 12.5 days for missing Indigenous persons.
Jen Kocher can be reached at jen@cowboystatedaily.com.
